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Does divorce occur with doubt about the intention of divorce, bearing in mind that atonement for the oath has been made?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a husband doubts the wording of a divorce between two phrases, one of which effects a divorce and the other does not, then his divorce is doubtful, and nothing is binding upon him; because the fundamental principle is the persistence of the marital bond.

If it is highly probable that he said: "Divorce be upon me if you don't hang up the phone," and she then hung up, with the intention of prohibition, then divorce has occurred according to the majority of scholars, and this is the most preponderant opinion. An expiation for an oath (kaffarat yameen) is not sufficient in this case. The wife can be taken back (ruj'ah) if this divorce does not complete the three divorces.

An explicit, conditional divorce is effective according to the majority of scholars if the condition is met, whether he intended not to divorce or doubted his intention.

The madhhab of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is that a conditional divorce not intended as a divorce can be expiated with an expiation for an oath. However, the preponderant opinion is that of the majority of scholars.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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